Classified ad of the week: Lamborghini Diablo roadster

Can’t stretch to an Aventador convertible? We have just the thing…

In these strained economic times, we appreciate that the superfluous £294,665 Aventador Roadster might be a little bit... pricey. But don't panic. Our feet are planted firmly on Planet Reality. Which is why we're highlighting this bargain-basement drop-top Lamborghini, currently on sale for a piffling £69,990.

Yep, you can have yourself a roofless big-body Lambo for the same money as, erm, a small house in the north of England. And you won't even have to compromise that much on performance...

This last-of-the-line 1998 VT Roadster has a 5.7-litre V12 producing 492.2bhp, and 428lb ft of torque. And it only weighs 1625kg, so it'll do 0-60mph in just 4.6 seconds, run the quarter mile in 13.0 seconds, and go on to 206mph. Not bad considering Boombastic was at No. 1 when it launched in '95...

Lambo didn't just take a hacksaw to a fixed-Diablo to build the ‘vert, either- it's been specially tweaked for toplessness. The main issue was cooling - to keep braking temperatures low, the ducting was moved inboard of the driving lamps up front, and the rear ducts featured the vertical design that appeared on the later SE30 to encourage cold air to get to the calipers. The engine lid also got redesigned so it could vent properly when the power carbon targa top was down.

As you'd imagine, it was bristling with mid-nineties finery. This one's got remote central locking, black leather seats, air conditioning, ABS, and wears the original 17-inch alloys exclusive to the roadster. The owner of this one's also added a sat-nav, DVD player, a proper Thatcham alarm and it's HPI clear.